Delivery & Return:Free shipping on all orders over $50
Estimated Delivery:7-15 days international
People:20 people viewing this product right now!
Easy Returns:Enjoy hassle-free returns within 30 days!
Payment:Secure checkout
SKU:22421794
'The Sun, Moon & Herbs' was originally conceived as a triple album, but it was fragmented, stripped down and put together again to form the present single-disc LP. And although Dr. John never liked this version much, it is proof of the theory 'less is more'. None of the seven tracks are suitable for broadcasting on the radio and the spells that Dr. John and his companions weave are dark and swampy. 'Black John The Conqueror' has its origins in ancient Cajun folklore, which the good Dr. modernised and gave a beat. The swampy 'Craney Crow' is the younger sibling of his earlier 'Walk On Guilded Splinters' and has a similar effect on the listener. 'Pots On Fiyo (File´ Gumbo)' combines Latin-American rhythms with a wealth of Cajun chants and spells. The vocals are almost unfathomable and serve rather more as an additional musical instrument in the mix. 'Zu Zu Zu Mamou' is so tightly knitted that one can almost cut through the music with a knife; the mood here takes on a quite different meaning. 'The Sun, Moon & Herbs' is best heard on a hot sultry night where thunder rolls in the distance like jungle drums. Dr. John certainly had something specific in mind, but it is up to the listener to find out just what it was.
If you find yourself in need of a trip (trip is the right word) to the swamps of Louisiana might I recommend you take it with Dr. John’s 1971 The Sun, Moon and Herbs (this review is for the fairly recent 180 gram pressing). Even though this album doesn’t come close to tapping into the immaculate groove laid down by the Meters on the good Doctor’s 1973 funky magnum opus In the Right Place; it’s still hard to go wrong with PP Arnold (wish I had her solo albums) and Mick Jagger amongst others on back-up vocals and Eric Clapton on slide guitar. This is also one of the few rock albums featuring a tuba. Mick harmonizes so well with the girls I couldn’t pick out his vocals until I put on the Sennheisers powered by the Headroom amp. On a couple of tracks (like Black John the Conqueror & Where Ya at Mule) the background singers should be called foreground singers which is a good thing with talent like PP, Joni Jonz, Tammi Lynn, etc. Eric’s stand out track is Craney Crow. The rather disjointed Pots on Fiyo (filé gumbo) is the least appealing to my ear, but maybe that’s because I was rather stupidly expecting a hoodooed version of Jambalaya on the Bayou (Hank Williams and The Carpenters too), which is not what it is. My favorites are Craney Crow and the voodoo epic Zu Zu Mamou. If you are not familiar with Dr. John’s Night Tripper phase I am not sure what to refer you to to prepare you for it other than B-movie voodoo flicks (and maybe in a bit of a stretch Tony Joe White and Screaming Jay Hawkins) so I suggest you sample first before diving in the swamp, unlike me, you may not relish the creepy crawlies lurking under the surface. It could help your Cajun and Creole cooking though; Dr. John is one of my go-tos when I fire up the smoker/BBQ.Sound Quality: This is an excellent presentation of a damn fine recording. No surprise with that, the major labels were deeply concerned with audio quality back in the days when most cars came equipped with AM radios, there were no personal systems to exercise with and teens had yet to be distracted by video games, the internet, and i-phones; the end result was many music fans were more into listening at home and a higher percentage of the population were active listeners not just those that purely like music for background passive type listening. Therefore, the record buying public were perceived as more discerning and labels, studios, and recording engineers responded by mastering the art of multitrack recording. Many think the zenith of studio music recording (referring to a sonic viewpoint regarding multitrack recordings) was reached during the early 70’s before disco momentarily took over the pop market place and mass market cost concerns became paramount for the music industry. Enough of that theoretical stuff (which doesn’t explain the popularity of console stereos at the time), the point here is if you like any music from this era there is a good chance that the master tape was/is a great sounding source (in the case of a modern remastering if the tape was stored correctly). This album is a pretty good example of that: with great presence on the vocals (especially Mac’s), rich instrumental textures, a clear mix in spite of the dense plethora of instruments, the depth and spread of the stereo soundscape, layering of instruments and voices, realistic dynamics, easily heard differentiation of the reverberant signatures of the two studios used (Trident in London and Dimension in Hollywood), the swirling sonic conglomeration with various players spot lit in the fore at various times, and so forth; provided your system can sort it all out. Kudos to everyone involved in the original production and to the current re-mastering and pressing folks. My copy has some minimal surface noise but overall it is pretty quiet (I did clean it before the first spin to rid it of any manufacturing residues).Packaging is excellent with good printing on sturdy stock with the original gatefold presentation of the artwork. Not trusting the paper inner sleeve (though of reasonably high quality) I opted to replace it with a MoFi master sleeve and protected the whole shebang with a Clearbags gatefold/double record sized outer sleeve.
